ANNUAL RAPTOR CLOSURES

Every year a variety of local crags are closed to protect nesting raptors. As climbers we should see it as a privilege that we can share these few crags with our winged friends, and an honor to let them have solitude to reproduce. It is only for half of the year, on a small fraction of the available nearby climbing terrain.

Please help spread the word: do not climb on these formations during the closure period! As the season progresses and it is known which nesting sites are active, some of these formations are re-opened to climbing before the deadline.

Mount Sanitas Summit, south of the Mt. Sanitas East Ridge Trail, east of Mt. Sanitas Trail (both trails remain open)

Flagstaff Mountain, the north side of Flagstaff Mountain will be closed (the Boy Scout Trail will remain open)

Third Flatiron including the Queen Anne’s Head, W.C Fields Pinnacle, 1911 Gully and the Ghetto, the East Bench & West Bench, the East & West Ironing Boards, The Fin, Green Thumb and Jaws

The Back Porch and The Box

Skunk Canyon

Der Freischutz including Frankenstein’s Castle, The Bubble, and both Southern and Northern Dinosaur Egg

Bear Creek Spire

Fern Canyon, north of the Fern Canyon Trail, including the Nebel Horn Ridge, East Ridge, the Goose and the Goose Eggs (the designated Fern Canyon hiking trail will remain open)

Shadow Canyon, the Matron, Sphinx and the Wings (the Maiden will remain open and accessible from the east; Shadow Canyon Trail will remain open)

The entire Mickey Mouse wall, including South Tower, North Tower, Central Tower, Ship’s Prow, Wall of Shiva’s Dance, The Gargoyle, the East Face and Cryptic Crag

Climbing areas in Eldorado Canyon State Park that are closed seasonally February 1 until July 15 (full details here):

Shirttail Peak (*open 2019 unless the eagles show interest)

Millennium Crag

Rattlesnake Gulch Trail upper loop

Climbing areas in Boulder Canyon on US Forest Service land that are closed seasonally February 1 until July 31 (full details here):

Eagle Rock

Blob Rock

Bitty Buttress

Security Risk

Note: Happy Hour, Bihedral and Riviera will remain open as long as visitors stay out of the closed areas.

Climbing areas on Jefferson County Open Space land including crags in Clear Creek Canyon are closed seasonally February 1 until July 31 (full details here):

Stumbling Block

Bumbling Stock

Skinny Legs/Blonde Formation

Fault Caves

Ghost Crag

Highlander Crag

Evil

Tetanus Garden

Cathedral Spires in South Platte (begins March 1)

Climbing areas in Lumpy Ridge on National Park Service land that are closed seasonally March 1 until July 31 (full details here):

Twin Owls

Rock One

Batman Rock

Batman Pinnacle

Checkerboard Rock

Alligator Rock

Lightning Rock

Thunder Buttress

The Parish

Sundance Buttress

Sheep Rock

Climbing areas in Staunton State Park that are closed from February 1 until August 1 (for current conditions contact the park at 303-816-0912):

Lion’s Head

The Ranch Hand

The Park View Dome

The Sawmill Crags

Rough Neck Wall

Black Creek Wall

———————————————————————————————————

Each year from February 1 to July 31 some climbing crags are closed to protect nesting raptors. The closures help protect long-established raptor nesting territory, including vital alternate nest sites. Undisturbed access to multiple nest sites is important for birds of prey, especially early in the nesting season, to give them a chance to visit multiple nests during courtship and to select a site for the season, free of human influence.

“As part of a small team of volunteer climber-biologists, we install trail cameras on the cliffs before the nesting season and make observations to determine when and where the eagles choose to nest. Once nesting is confirmed by observations of incubation behavior and/or an egg, the USFS opens the other areas. Ongoing observations are used to keep track of the number of eagles fledged and sources of mortality. Once fledging is confirmed, the nest cliff is opened again to climbing. This is a collaborative effort built on trust and shared interest between the climbing community, biologists, and USFS, so please get the word out. (Knuckleheads who violate the closures to climb anyway, selfishly violate that trust, put the eagles at risk of nest failure, and face a hefty fine.)

Climbers played essential roles in the research and recovery of peregrine falcons and Sierra bighorn sheep, and brought the California condor back from the brink of extinction. It is our time to do our part again, and respect the closures when they are in effect, as golden eagles face an uncertain future because of threats from wind turbines, lead contamination, electrocutions, and habitat loss.”